House lawmakers Tuesday stymied an initial effort by Republicans to put an end to infamous light bulb efficiency standards.

The bill from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to repeal part of a 2007 energy law requiring traditional incandescent light bulbs to be 30 percent more energy efficient beginning in 2012 failed to get the necessary two-thirds support needed for approval under expedited rules. A majority of members — 233 — supported the repeal, including five Democrats. Ten Republicans joined 183 Democrats opposing the measure.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi personally whipped Democratic Caucus members to vote against the bill, a Democratic aide told POLITICO.

“I was concerned that Ms. Pelosi might make it a litmus test issue in her caucus, and she did,” Barton said after the vote. “We only got 5 Democrat votes. Everybody in the Blue Dog caucus and the Black caucus that voted no, voted against their constituents.

"I thought I had 25 at a minimum. I thought, if it were truly a free vote, I thought we’d pass it on suspension,” he added.

Barton said his plan is to move the measure under a regular rule requiring only majority support or as a spending bill amendment.

"We can put it on an appropriations bill. We can back it under a rule. I can try and go to some of the Democrats who didn’t vote for it and figure out a way to get them to consider voting for it in a little bit of a different format," he said.

The expedited procedure used Tuesday is normally meant to fast-track noncontentious bills without committee consideration, such as post office namings, and requires two-thirds support from those present and voting and does not allow for amendments.

The bill would fall under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose chairman — Michigan Republican Fred Upton — helped put the efficiency language in the 2007 bill.

Upton reversed his stance on the language he helped co-author with Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) — and was signed into law by then-President George W. Bush.

Upton’s change of heart came as he was trying to shore up his conservative credentials while running for the energy panel chairmanship.

The light bulb efficiency standard has become a symbol of federal government stymieing of consumer choice that has been roundly attacked by conservatives.

Barton had expressed confidence before the vote that he could secure the necessary support of at least 40 Democrats and win as many as 300 votes overall.

One of the original Republican co-sponsors of the bill — Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) — voted “present” mainly due to language added to the measure trumping states.

“If states want to do something stupid, they should be able to do something stupid,” Bishop told POLITICO.

Bishop also “was disappointed that this bill did not go through committee and is often quoted on this matter as saying ‘poor process yields a poor product,’” his spokeswoman emailed.

Meanwhile, 20 Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter last week asking for lawmakers to oppose the bill on procedural grounds.

“This bill is being brought to the floor on suspension prematurely without any hearings or markup in the Committee on Energy and Commerce,” they wrote. “This bill should not be considered by the House until it has been thoroughly examined, refined and voted upon in committee.”

All but three Democrats on the panel — Jim Matheson of Utah, Mike Ross of Arkansas and Gene Green of Texas — signed the letter.

“It really just boils down to we’re helping the American people save money,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on a conference call with reporters late last week.

Chu said critics are wrong in saying the standards would ban all incandescent light bulbs, adding that the “look and feel” of newer, more efficient bulbs would be “exactly the same. It’s just cheaper to operate.”

“These standards are not taking choices away,” he added.

Barton said before the vote he wasn’t worried about any political fallout for the Republicans.

"It does nothing but help out in the general public,” he said. “There's not five percent of the public that votes that thinks this light bulb ban, or de facto ban, is a good thing. They're whistling Dixie if they think that supporting government telling you what kind of light bulb you put in your home is a political winner for themselves.”

Darius Dixon and Darren Samuelsohn contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 7:35 p.m. on July 12, 2011.